Do I have the OneDrive for Business sync app on my computer?

Most versions of Office 2013 or Office 365 Business come with the OneDrive for Business sync app. If your version of Office includes the OneDrive for Business sync app, you’ll find it in your Office program group, listed as OneDrive for Business 2013. The table below shows what this looks like if you’re running Windows 8 or Windows 7.

How do I keep the sync app up to date?

We’re continuously improving the OneDrive for Business sync app, so it's important to keep your sync app updated.

The steps to do this depend on how you installed either Office or the sync app: traditional installation through a setup program (MSI), or installation of Office or the OneDrive for Business sync app through Click-to-run.

If you're an Office 365 Business user and you installed Office applications via Click-to-run, your sync app stays up to date as long as you don't disable updates. How do you know your Office applications were installed by click-to-run?

In an Office app, such as Word, click File > Account or Office Account (depending on your version of Office).

Under Office Updates, you should see Updates are automatically downloaded and installed.

Click Update Options. You can choose your preferred settings and even update now if you want to.

Note If you don't see Update Options, you don't have Office 2013 and you must have installed the sync app separately.

If you installed the sync app separately via Click-to-run, it updates on its own when the update service advertises an update. Usually, your computer updates after a restart. To start an update manually, follow these steps:

Go to the Control Panel.

Under Programs, click Uninstall programs.

Under Uninstall or change a program, select Microsoft OneDrive for Business 2013, then click Change.

In the How would you like to repair your Office programs dialog box, select Online Repair, and then click the Repair button.

In the Ready to start an Online Repair dialog box, click Repair to start the process.

If your Office apps weren't installed by Click-to-run, you can use Windows Update which is available from the Control Panel.

Then, you can check for the same version of the sync app in your file system. For OneDrive for Business, the file name of the sync app is groove.exe. If you installed Office through an MSI, you usually find the groove.exe file at \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15. If you installed Office or the sync app standalone through click-to-run, you usually find groove.exe at \Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\Office15.

Search for groove.exe on your PC.

Right-click groove.exe and select Properties.

In the Properties dialog box, click the Details tab and you’ll see the Product version listed.

How do I fix sync problems?

The OneDrive for Business sync app may occasionally have problems uploading or downloading files or folders. This can happen, for example, if a file contains Invalid characters or if a file type is not allowed. Similarly, you may get sync errors if a library is too large or if you don’t have permission to download a library.

Whenever you have a sync problem, a sync error image overlays the OneDrive for Business menu icon in your Windows notification area. Select the OneDrive for Business menu icon and then select View sync problems.

An error dialog box opens that describes any current sync problems and suggests actions you can take to fix them.

If you’re having a lot of sync problems, consider running Repair to reset your connections. Repair disconnects and then reconnects all libraries you were previously syncing with the OneDrive for Business sync app.

How do I sync only selected files or folders in a library?

At the present time, the OneDrive for Business sync app only supports syncing all files and folders in a library. You can't sync only selected files or folders.

Why am I seeing similar versions of the same file in my synced library folder?

This is from editing conflicts. Editing conflicts with Office files are reported as sync problems and you can fix them as described above. But editing conflicts with other types of files are not reported as sync problems. Instead, OneDrive for Business creates a new version of the file, and appends the device name to the file name. For example:

When you see this happen, it’s up to you to decide how to treat these file versions. You might consider one of these actions:

If possible, compare the file versions by opening them in an application, merge changes into one, consolidated version, and then delete the other versions.

Rename file versions to distinguish them.

Keep both versions of the file.

Note OneDrive for Business will create up to 10 conflict versions for these types of files.

What are the limitations of using the OneDrive for Business sync app with Office 2010 applications?

The OneDrive for Business sync app is an Office 2013 application and is optimized to work with files opened with other Office 2013 applications. You can open and update Office files in your synced OneDrive for Business folder using Office 2010 applications, but there are a few important differences in behavior. The following table describes these differences and how to work around them.

Important We don’t support running OneDrive for Business alongside Office 2007. If you’ve already installed the OneDrive for Business sync app on a computer running Office 2007, you can uninstall the sync app and use OneDrive for Business from the web site, or use Open with Explorer to manage files. To sync files to your computer, we recommend upgrading to Office 2013. If you decide to upgrade from Office 2007 to Office 2013, follow these instructions to uninstall Office 2007 and install Office 2013.

Issue

Details and recommendations

Co-editing and checkin/checkout features are not available, so you won’t be notified when someone else is editing the same file. This may result in an editing conflict.

If you want to collaborate on Office files you’re storing in your OneDrive for Business, we recommend that you and your co-editors open these files in a web browser, instead of in the synced folder on their local computers.

At the top of the page, select OneDrive. Or, select the app launcher , and then select OneDrive.

Select the file you want in the web browser.

You may sometimes need to refresh documents in the synced folder to ensure that you have the latest updates.

If someone else edits a document you have in your local, synced folder, you won’t have their changes until the next scheduled sync. You can ensure that you always have the most current content by Manually syncing the folder before you open the document.

To do a manual sync, click the OneDrive for Business icon in your system tray, and then click Sync Now.

You see two versions of the Office Upload Center in your system tray.

This is normal. One version is for OneDrive for Business because it’s an Office 2013 application, and the other is for Office 2010.

In a SharePoint 2010 library, commands intended for starting SharePoint Workspace activities are either disabled or result in an error message.

Why am I seeing Office 2013 updates in Windows Update?

After you install OneDrive for Business using the free download, you may sometimes see Office 2013 software updates in Windows Update that appear to be unrelated to OneDrive for Business. You get these updates because OneDrive for Business has a number of Office 2013 dependencies. We recommend that you install these updates.

What web address for my OneDrive for Business library should I enter in the sync app wizard?

The first time you run the OneDrive for Business sync app, the sync app wizard normally detects the web address of your OneDrive for Business library. However, in some configurations, OneDrive for Business can’t find this address and leaves the web address field blank.

If this is your experience, close the sync app wizard, and then do the following:

Why is the “Sync” button opening the Create New Workspace dialog box instead of the OneDrive for Business wizard?

You clicked Sync in a SharePoint 2013 library expecting to see the sync app wizard, but the SharePoint Workspace Create New Workspace dialog box opened instead. This behavior may result from an update of your Office 2010 installation that occurs after you’ve installed Office 2013 or the standalone OneDrive for Business sync app. When this happens, SharePoint Workspace becomes the default sync app for SharePoint libraries.